Alan and Pat live and work in Bordeaux. Alan is a pastor and Pat was a nurse. Now we work with UFM worldwide. Read on! (If you'd like to know what took us to Bordeaux, then start with the archives from September 2004)

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Railways in Britain

Travelling by railway worked out fine, and it had good points and less good ones.

The trains were usually punctual and I never missed a connection.

The tickets were not exorbitantly expensive, though I saved a lot by booking ahead.

The staff were courteous and friendly, like the wonderful man steering his refreshment trolley through the narrow aisles hawking his fare of "snake-venom and squirrels on sticks".

I almost always got a seat.

The trains between Swindon and Bath have free wi-fi. Cardiff buses have it, too, now!

However, the trains were mostly old and worn-looking.

Some trains just weren't big enough - for example between Cardiff and Swansea there's a half-hourly service, but the train has just two carriages and the ones I was on were absolutely jam full of people.